Tomorrow I am presenting at the MIRCI (Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement) conference in Florence, Italy. Today as I reviewed my notes and slides for the presentation titled, “Empowering Mothers of Special Needs Children,” I revisited some of the memories and experiences of my 38-year journey of being Nick’s mom. I am grateful for the professionals that taught me, and their support which empowered me, to be a better mom to Nick. I learned how to advocate for him, how to help him have the best life possible. Words such as “Thank you!” cannot express the depth of my feelings, and I hope that each one of them knows my heart.
Empowerment is a big buzz word in our society. To me there are three components:
(1) Opportunities to learn new information and skills.
(2) Belief in oneself to participate in decision making and carry out an action or task.
(3) Time to practice new skills in a supportive environment.
Sometimes the smallest interaction can cause the biggest impact in another persons life. There were times that I was empowered by a short conversation, or an article someone sent to me. Empowering others is not always a long drawn out time commitment. Look for opportunities to empower someone else. This is one of the things I am doing to help change the world. Remember the pebble dropped into the pond, the ripple effect can be enormous.
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